Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Acquires 7,077 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 16.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,077 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Unum Group by 51.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,776 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 6,498.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 636,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,145,000 after purchasing an additional 626,676 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,021,000 after purchasing an additional 292,917 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Unum Group stock opened at $57.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.46 and its 200-day moving average is $52.65. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $58.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.